Best Writer

PROMPT: Imagine you have been assigned the task of creating
a job description. Identify a job, locate at least two sample job descriptions,
and create one. Please present the job description to the class and note to
what degree communication skills play a role in the tasks or duties you have
included.

In a reflective and analytical essay, establish your own definition of critical thinking in order to then identify, explain, and evaluate examples of critical thinking in the writing of an author you choose AND in one or more samples of your own writing. Correlate these examples of critical thinking with your personal processes of reading, writing, and learning—all as they relate back to your original definition of critical thinking.
The author’s work you discuss needs to be from a written text (e.g., an article, essay, book chapter, blog, etc.), and it can’t be something from our required course readings. You may choose any genre of writing, and virtually any source, so long as it involves written language that demonstrates critical thinking. For samples of your own writing, you can choose anything from previous courses or other examples of your writing (personal essays, blogs, journals, etc.).
Writing Guide
Begin by considering some of the prominent definitions of critical thinking. After recognizing any important differences or discrepancies in those definitions, offer a working definition of critical thinking as you think it should be defined.
Continue in the body paragraphs of your paper by identifying written examples of critical thinking. These examples should be drawn from the work of another and from your own writing. One way to structure these body paragraphs is to compare and contrast examples of critical thinking in your own writing with examples from your selected author.
Conclude by considering any or all of the following questions: What do students stand to gain from actively practicing critical thinking in their lives? What prevents critical thinking from taking place? What can be done to facilitate it? On the flip side, are there limits to critical thinking as others have defined it? Are there potential downsides to the promotion of critical thinking in schools? In other words, are there valid arguments against critical thinking?
Requirements
1,000 words minimum.
MLA format.
In the body of the essay, include written examples of critical thinking from at least one outside reading and at least one of your own writing projects from the past.
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Defining Critical Thinking: Sources to Consider for the Essay
Mulnix, Jennifer Wilson. “Thinking Critically About Critical Thinking.” Educational Philosophy and Theory, vol. 44, no. 5.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00673.x
As a philosophy professor, one of my central goals is to teach students to think critically. However, one difficulty with determining whether critical thinking can be taught, or even measured, is that there is widespread disagreement over what critical thinking actually is. Here, I reflect on several conceptions of critical thinking, subjecting them to critical scrutiny. I also distinguish critical thinking from other forms of mental processes with which it is often conflated. Next, I present my own conception of critical thinking, wherein it fundamentally consists in acquiring, developing, and exercising the ability to grasp inferential connections holding between statements. Finally, given this account of critical thinking, and given recent studies in cognitive science, I suggest the most effective means for teaching students to think critically.
Pritchard, Michael. “Philosophy for Children.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2018. (Links to an external site.)
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/children/
What is meant by ‘critical thinking’? Characterizations range in complexity from Robert Ennis’s admirably brief, “reasonable reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do” (Ennis 1987) to a complex statement by a group of 46 panelists convened by the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Pre-College Philosophy to employ the Delphi Method of striving for consensus:
We understand critical thinking to be purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based…. The ideal critical thinking is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. (Facione, 1989)
Gabennesch, Howard. “Critical Thinking: What Is It Good for? (In Fact, What Is It?).” Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 30, no. 2, 2006. (Links to an external site.)

Critical Thinking: What Is It Good for? (In Fact, What Is It?)

No one should pontificate a definition of critical thinking, nor should we expect to achieve unanimity. But I offer the following definition for consideration: Critical thinking is the use of rational skills, worldviews, and values to get as close as possible to the truth.
Arnold, Andrew. “How to Maintain Critical Thinking in the Modern World of New Media.” Forbes, 27 Feb. 2018. (Links to an external site.)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/2018/02/27/how-to-maintain-critical-thinking-in-the-modern-world-of-new-media/?sh=5f4a8a2d50e5
Sharpen your critical thinking skills. One significant issue is that it is easy to become intellectually lazy in the face of all of this information being spoon fed to us. Don’t become a passive consumer of news and other data. Instead, make an effort to keep your critical thinking skills sharp. Always challenge your own assumptions and biases. Use a combination of your own experience as well as data that has proven to be true through solid testing procedures to validate ideas and opinions.

Prepare an 8-10 page operating budget for a hospital unit.
Introduction
Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.
Sound financial management is essential to the fiscal well-being of all health care organizations, and the nurse leader plays an important part. Consequently, the preparation and effective management of operating budgets is a critical skill for nurse leaders. The budget guides leaders in optimizing the use of resources, and because nurses are closest to patients, they understand very well what it takes to operate on a daily basis and provide safe, high-quality care.
This assessment provides an opportunity for you to develop an operating budget for a health care unit. Keep in mind, staff is a large part of this budget and is often hard to control.
Numbers on a budget sheet or report are only numbers. Nurse leaders are major decision makers who must be informed and able to make data-driven decisions, often in a very limited amount of time. Financial analysis consists of the organization and presentation of data in a meaningful and relevant format that enables analysis, comparison, and synthesis.
Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.
Preparation
You are the nurse manager of a 35-bed hospital unit with 20 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. You have been given the task of getting the budget under control. Several people have recently left the unit, and you have been working to fill those open positions. Your staff work scheduled overtime and many sign up to work extra shifts. Your unit serves an older population, as well, and has incurred expenses associated with this group of patients.
Note: Remember that you can submit all of, or a portion of, your draft to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. However, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24-48 hours for receiving feedback, if you plan on using this free service.
As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.
What major sections would you include in an operating budget?
What are your primary sources of budget information?
Would you include nice-to-have items in your budget? Why or why not?
What factors, such as organizational objectives, policies, and competition for funding, might affect the development and management of an operating budget?
The following resources are required to complete the assessment.
APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX]. Use this tutorial for the written portion of your operating budget.
Requirements
Note: The following requirements correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide. Be sure that your budget addresses each point, at a minimum. You may also want to read the Guiding Questions: Preparing and Managing an Operating Budget [DOCX] to better understand how each criterion will be assessed.
Prepare and submit an operating budget for your hospital unit.
Prepare the operating budget.
Note: Assemble your budget figures in a table, using a format of your choice. You may use either Microsoft Word or Excel to create your budget table.
Explain how the budget was designed and created.
Develop a strategic plan.
Develop an approach to ongoing budget management.
Present budget data and information clearly and accurately.
Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support your budget data and information, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.
Additional Requirements
If you use Microsoft Excel to create your budget table, submit the Excel file along with your budget narrative. You may also add the Excel file to your Word document as an embedded object.
Format your budget narrative using APA style.
Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX], linked above, to help you in writing and formatting your document. Be sure to include:
An APA-formatted title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
A minimum of five properly formatted citations and references.
Your budget should be 8-10 pages in length, not including the title page and reference page.
Portfolio Prompt: You may choose to save this learning activity to your ePortfolio.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Competency 1: Design an operating budget that incorporates variances or discretionary spending.
Prepare an operating budget.
Explain how a budget is designed and created.
Competency 2: Develop a plan for managing the labor force, within the parameters of the budget and productivity.
Develop an approach to ongoing budget management.
Competency 5: Apply financial principles to a strategic plan for achieving organizational goals and fiscal success.
Develop a strategic plan.
Competency 6: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
Present budget data and information clearly and accurately.
Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support budget data and information, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.
The resources provided here are optional. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The MSN Program Library Research Guide can help direct your research.
The following articles address budget preparation and the management of operating costs, and may help you with preparing your operating budget in this assessment.
Duffield, C. M., Roche, M. A., Homer, C., Buchan, J., & Dimitrelis, S. (2014). A comparative review of nurse turnover rates and costs across countries. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(12), 2703-2712.
Will help you understand how to calculate the cost of nursing turnover and its impact on an operating budget.
Hill, K. S., Higdon, K., Porter, B. W., Rutland, M. D., & Vela, D. K. (2015). Preserving staffing resources as a system: Nurses leading operations and efficiency initiatives. Nursing Economics, 33(1), 26-35.
Discusses use of effective staffing, which represents the biggest drain on the operating budget.
Kirby, K. K. (2015). Hours per patient day: Not the problem, nor the solution. Nursing Economics, 33(1), 64-66.
Provides a method of calculating the costs of staffing.
Mitton, C., Dionne, F., & Donaldson, C. (2014). Managing healthcare budgets in times of austerity: The role of program budgeting and marginal analysis. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 12(2), 95-102.
Provides general information to help understand healthcare finances and budgets.
Rundio, A. (2016). The nurse manager’s guide to budgeting & finance (2nd ed.). Sigma Theta International.
Russell, J. (2014). When in doubt, don’t. Nursing Management, 45(5), 22-25.
Examines value analysis as a way to reduce health care costs.

Discuss an issue facing school health advocates with your classmates and explain why this is an issue.

Write a reflection discussing your reaction to the production of Oedipus Rex we watched. This is from your point of view; you may choose any topic or take you like. If you would like some jumping off points, here are a few:
1. Production elements (pick one so you can dig deep): Costumes/masks, Scenery/props, Acting style (vocals and movements)
2. Blindness a metaphor for ignorance
3. Fate vs Choice
4. Should we still teach this stuff? Is it still relevant?
5. Fatal flaws

William Shatner: 1957 “Oedipus Rex”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpxZFHBARwY

The Critical Path Method is a fundamental topic for all project managers to understand. Provide examples of a project you have been involved with or read about in the text, and what impact the critical path can have on that project. The initial post should be 200-400 words. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.

Write a thesis-based reaction essay to Toni Morrison “A Mercy” novel.

Educating Peter
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The attached video is a classic video which will give you a good idea about some of the challenges you will face when you have a high needs disabled child in your class. This video is very, very dated! Wait until you see what the teacher is wearing! But, look past all of that. This video was made around the time that IDEA was passed and it required all students be educated in the LRE (least restrictive environment). Peter is a little boy with down syndrome. He is assigned to this classroom and this video documents his progress over the year.
Remember, the teacher in the film is not a special ed teacher. You may be in her shoes one day!
Here is the link to the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EikuC2hJ5hs&t=42s
(Links to an external site.)
(If you have trouble with the video search Youtube for “Educating Peter” Be sure you watch the one that is about 30 minutes long. There are some shortened versions but they won’t give you the same perspective.)
Find a time to watch it (remember it is about 30 minutes. You will have to pay close attention to all that is said. It is an old video.
To remind you, here is the info from the slide that introduced the video:
You are teaching elementary school (third grade). Your principal comes to you and tells you next week you will be getting a new student, Peter. Peter has disabilities. He may present some social problems. He may exhibit behavior problems. But, you are the most experienced teacher and your principal believes you will be the best fit for Peter and his needs.
What is the first thing that you think about?
While you are very flattered your principal has put such faith in you…..your principal is concerned about you and Peter. What are you thinking about?
Afterwards, post here.
1. Now that you know Peter’s whole story, now what would you have asked the principal?
2. What school resources would you want to access to support you and your class?
3. Do you think a behavior management plan would work for Peter? Why or why not?
4. Imagine a little! How do you think you would respond if you were the teacher?
Respond to two peers. Post your initial post before responding to your peers.

part 2
A rubric has been provided in the syllabus for instructional purposes as well as to be used as an assessment. SE 300 Special Education Interview.docx
Download SE 300 Special Education Interview.docx
The purpose of this assignment is for the candidate to view special education and disabilities through the eyes of one of the stakeholders. A stakeholder is one who is intimately involved in an experience who can be considered an expert and provides their unique perspective.
Please begin thinking about who you would like to interview now. If you have difficulty locating someone, please let me know in advance so that I may contact an individual who will be willing to assist.
Assignment:
Interview an individual with disabilities, or a parent of an individual with a disability, or a special education teacher. Summarize your experience and use the rubric as a guide of topics to include when interviewing and summarizing

Download Hello.docx

Modern Economic Growth is characterized by sustained and ongoing increases in living standards that can cause dramatic improvements in the standard of living within less than a single human lifetime (McConnell, 554).

Historic examples of advances in technology created by modern economic growth include many aspects of life which we take for granted. Here is some food for thought I summarize in my lifetime:

– Air Conditioning (A/C). A/C was NOT a common luxury prior to the 1980’s. Yes, it existed and was common in areas of the country where summer heat and humidity were common; BUT this was not the norm until the 1960’s. The same goes for A/C in cars.

– Cellular Telephone Service. Nonexistent or very rare to the common citizen much before 2003!

– Modern Medicine. Prior to the 1990’s, the growth of unique medical devices such as MRI’s, CATSCANs, etc. were extant, but not very common and their use was almost prohibitively expensive. Up through the mid 1970’s, the extent of internal medicine diagnosis required exploratory surgery. Also, it was not until 1917 before antibiotics were available to the general public.

No doubt all of you can think of other benefits of economic growth. The improved standards of living described above are reflective of the tremendous power, incentive, and ingenuity of the free market in the private sector.

Discuss how modern economic growth allow us, as ordinary citizens, to take advantage and possess advances in technology created and offered by the free market? Keep in mind education, income, taxation, etc.

After listening to the song, focus your research work around the following:
1. What is the origin of this song? Give as much detail as you can find. Remember to use multiple resource sites.
2. Was it commercially successful? Give details of its success or failure.
3. The lyrics of this song are sometimes debatable with certain phrases appearing to be different depending on the artist singing. Using the lyrics listed below, are you able to interpret the story of this song? If so, what is it about? The lyrics below also contain certain phrases that originated in the African-American culture of the 1950s (i.e. “has the misery,” and “built for speed’). What do these phrases mean and how do they impact the story?
[Verse 1]
Going to tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John
He claim he has the misery but he has a lot of fun
Oh baby
Ye-e-e-eh baby
Woo-o-o-oh baby
Having me some fun tonight
Yeah

[Verse 2]
Well, long tall Sally, she’s built for speed
She got everything that Uncle John need
Oh baby
Ye-e-e-eh baby
Woo-o-o-oh baby
Having me some fun tonight
Yeah

[Verse 3]
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald-head Sally
He saw Aunt Mary coming and he ducked back in the alley
Oh baby
Ye-e-e-eh baby
Woo-o-o-oh baby
Having me some fun tonight
4. What is the lasting legacy of this song, and why is it important?